Temper
by PolarisAmane
Summary: "Yeah, but you've never trained with her." Cassie's first training session with Wonder Woman was a little bit more intense than she'd thought it'd be. Not to mention a hell of a lot more painful.
1. Chapter 1

**Depending on how this is received I might write more Young Justice fics. I had fun with this, I hope you enjoy it too.**

**Disclaimer – I own nothing, all characters belong to their respective owners... blah, blah...**

* * *

_Temper_

There was not a shred of doubt in Cassie's mind that Wonder Woman was trying to kill her.

Admittedly, she wasn't trying very hard. After all as hard as she had just hit Cassie – and it felt like she had just been run over by a two-ton truck – she knew that Wonder Woman could hit a hell of a lot harder. She was holding back, only unleashing a fraction of her true strength and speed.

This meant two things; firstly: Wonder Woman was, despite her sweet, innocent and compassionate act and all her talk of peace, a sadist. She was clearly intent on slowly and "gently" beating Cassie into an early grave, prolonging the pain rather than just granting a swift and merciful end.

Secondly: it meant that Wonder Woman was coddling her; which was way insulting.

Cassie rolled onto her front. She gripped her bruised ribs with her arms, hugging herself; her forehead was pressed down into the sand of the Circle, her knees drawn up to her stomach, and her feet tapping a little dance.

"_Owowowowowowow..."_

Her breath hissed out from between her clenched teeth. Who would have thought that sand was so hard and that landing on it would be so painful? Cassie was half-sure that most of her bruises were caused by her crappy landings and falls to the sand. And then it got everywhere! It was in her hair, which was the least annoying place that it was located; she had sand in her ears, up her nose, she could taste the wet grit of it in her mouth, and it was caked down her sweat soaked body. She was also pretty sure that it had got into places she really did not want to think about.

Why couldn't they have trained on mats? Nice comfortable, forgiving gym mats. What did Wonder Woman have against mats?

"Are we done here?"

"N... No." Cassie forced herself to her knees, pushing against the sand with her hands. She could see lots of tiny, raw cuts across the back of them. They were like paper cuts, small but stingingly painful, and were caused by the hated sand.

She looked up at Wonder Woman. No surprises here she looked immaculate, dressed in a small white skirt that showed off her long legs that Cassie was sort of jealous of, and sort of felt something else that she couldn't quite decide but usually plagued her mind in the quiet of night. She also wore a small white top, which much like the skirt, showed off far too much flesh. Wonder Woman had her hair pulled back into a loose braid that hung down her back, swinging whenever she moved. Her feet were bare. The only thing she wore from her usual get up were the bracelets, shining metal that gleamed coolly in the light of the room. Cassie had never seen her take them off.

Cassie stood up, her legs shaking so badly that she thought she might just fall back down again.

"No way," she said, sounding more confident then she felt. "No way are we done yet."

Wonder Woman smiled.

Cassie wanted to smile back but simply standing up was taking all of her effort and concentration. That and her face actually hurt.

When she had asked Wonder Woman to train her she had been disappointed but not surprised that the Amazon had said no. Then Cassie had begged her. She had followed Wonder Woman everywhere, harassing and annoying her until she had finally, sounding exasperated, agreed to train Cassie.

Cassie had thought that they would start slow, maybe with some boring meditation to help her control her powers. Diana seemed to like meditating, sometimes spending hours just sat in silence with her eyes closed. And Cassie knew that she needed to learn to restrain her strength, sometimes when she was angry, or even when she wasn't paying close enough attention, she would accidently wreck something, her foot through the floor or a door ripped from its hinges. Occasionally having super strength sucked. So it made sense to her that they'd start with exercises designed to teach her control and restraint.

Wonder Woman apparently didn't think that was the best starting place.

She had taken Cassie to her training room, which was handily located beneath her home, the Themysciran embassy. Cassie had always been not so quietly impressed that Diana had a training room that looked like it had been taken out of _Clash of the Titans_ or _300_. White stone walls and ornate columns that superficially held up the ceiling, it would have been beautiful were it not essentially a war room. There were racks of weapons on the wall, some that Cassie recognised and most that she did not, and not a single one she knew how to use beyond hitting someone with it; apparatus for stretching or some other sort of exercises that Cassie wasn't familiar with were dotted here and there; punching bags, which Cassie definitely knew how to play with, and loads of other fun toys littered the room. In the centre of the room there was a large circle, raised slightly from the ground and surrounded by thick twisted rope and lined with pristine white sand. This was where the sparring took place.

Or, when bored, it was where Cassie made sand angels.

Wonder Woman had warned her that they were going to spar, and they wouldn't be leaving the Circle until one of them had submitted to the other.

Cassie had practically flown into the Circle, bouncing up and down, and kicking up clouds of what had been perfectly raked sand. Wonder Woman had entered the Circle calmly, almost hesitantly and looking a little grim. Her feet were bare and she had spent a moment curling her toes into the sand.

Cassie had wondered if she should also be barefoot, and if it would be considered rude on Themyscira to wear sneakers in a sparring Circle.

She had been so preoccupied wondering about sparring etiquette and shoes that she hadn't heard Wonder Woman yell: "Begin!" and her first warning that they were starting was when her face had met the ground. She had got up quickly, spitting sand and feeling more than a little annoyed when Wonder Woman had kicked her legs out from under her and Cassie had found herself staring up at the ceiling.

And then she had found herself in some sort of horrendous arm lock that might actually have been the most painful experience of Cassie's life. That was until Wonder Woman had put her in an entirely different arm lock. Or that leg thing that had made Cassie whimper, gasp and cry. Or when Wonder Woman had thrown her around like a rag doll. Really the entire session had been the most painful and possibly the most humiliating experience of Cassie's life. And all the way through this torture Wonder Woman had loudly demanded that she "get up!" or "try to hit me!". Cassie had tried, both with the getting up (slightly more successful) and with the hitting (utter failure), and the only thing she had accomplished well so far was face planting in the sand.

This didn't put her off though. It only made her more determined.

She was back on her feet, she was shaking like a tree caught in a storm, but she was determined to see this through.

She tried to return Wonder Woman's smile, her lips drawing back, but instead found herself snarling like an animal and probably looking quite manic.

Wonder Woman shook her head more than a little fondly. "Again," she said.

Cassie tried to move into a fighting stance, but her arms wouldn't budge and her legs refused to respond. She stood there uselessly and watched in helpless horror as Wonder Woman flew towards her at a terrifying speed.

This was it. She was actually going to die. She would be nothing more than red mist in the air and an inconsequential red mess on the sand that would dutifully be raked over. She probably would have wet herself if she didn't hurt so badly.

Wonder Woman came to a dramatic stop just before Cassie, air rushing past her and ruffling Cassie's hair. She whipped both hands round and clapped them right in Cassie's face. If Cassie had thought the wind caused by Wonder Woman flying was strong then it was a gentle breeze compared to this, which was more like a full force gale localised right in her face. It forced her eyes close and she actually felt her mouth fill with air as her cheeks were pushed back, rippling under the wind pressure.

And the noise! It was like someone had fired a gun right next to Cassie's ear. It was the loudest thing she had ever heard and it echoed around the room, reverberated back on itself. The weapons racks actually rattled.

For a brief moment Cassie stayed standing. She creaked open an eye. Wonder Woman stood in front of her, her hands still pressed together right in Cassie's face. Cassie's ears were ringing; the echo still hadn't quite died yet. She opened her mouth and let out a small, dry croak. And then, ever so slowly, she toppled backwards.

She couldn't move her arms to break her fall and so she landed badly, her head bouncing off of the sand. Her dry croak turned into a sob. Her eyes stung and she could feel tears leaking from them. She couldn't move. Her arms and legs were like lead weights, aching; her chest rose and fell with each painful sobbed breath, and her throat was raw. She was lying on her back in the sand, in agony, having just given a humiliating performance of her "skills" to her hero. And the absolute worst thing was that she was crying in front of Wonder Woman.

Worst. Day. Ever.

Diana knelt down next to Cassie and placed her hand gently against her cheek. "I think we're done for today."

If Cassie could have moved she would have nodded.

/\/\/\

Cassie had cried all the way through getting changed. Diana had massaged some life back into her limbs, but every movement had been blinding agony, and Diana had had to help her get changed also.

Cassie was out of her sweats and back into her normal clothes: jeans, t-shirt and hoodie. For the first time ever she felt vaguely embarrassed that her hoodie had a Wonder Woman logo on it, though Diana didn't seem to mind.

Surprisingly Diana looked completely different when she wore normal clothes. Perhaps it was because when she was in costume all you saw was the tiara, the bracelets and the symbol and completely missed the woman behind them. It wasn't as though Diana looked less than she was in civilian clothes, smart pants, shirt and long creamy white coat for tonight; she was still tall, strong, statuesque and unbelievably beautiful in a traffic stopping kind of way, but somehow she still looked different. Cassie was surprised that more people didn't notice that Wonder Woman was walking down the street.

Diana's heels clicked an even rhythm on the sidewalk. Apart from the traffic and Cassie's occasionally pathetic sniff the tapping of her heels was the only sound. They didn't speak. Cassie wasn't sure if Diana's silence was disapproving or not. Maybe she was annoyed that she had to give Cassie a piggyback home.

Cassie sniffled. She tightened her grip on Diana's sturdy shoulders, and hunched her own up, her head down. It was beyond embarrassing that she had to be carried. Once she was changed she had been unable to stand up let alone walk. It had been Diana's idea to carry her, but Cassie still felt awful about it.

She had her hood pulled up, obscuring her face from whoever was walking by. She didn't want them to see her red-rimmed eyes or pink tipped nose. God, she could not believe that she had cried in front of Wonder Woman. So embarrassing.

She lifted her head, and forced her arms to loosen their death grip on Diana's shoulders, wincing as she did so since even that minor movement hurt.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"For what?" Diana turned her head looking back at Cassie.

Cassie shrugged. "For having to be carried, I guess."

"Ah." Diana smiled and turned her head back, facing forward. "Don't be. You're not heavy."

"But there's not much that is heavy to you," Cassie pointed out. She hadn't been bothered by her weight; Wonder Woman could easily lift several hundred tons after all. It was the principle of it, like she was some small annoyance, a minor irritation that Wonder Woman could do without. Surely Diana had better things to do then carry one girl home.

But then perhaps Wonder Woman had better things to do then train one excitable young girl.

"True, but you still shouldn't be sorry. I don't mind carrying you." She sounded slightly amused, which made Cassie feel a little bit better.

It didn't take long to get to Cassie's house. The lights were on, which meant that Cassie's mom was home. That was a pain. No doubt she'd fuss over the state Cassie was in.

Hopefully she no longer looked like she'd been crying.

"Do you have keys?" Diana asked.

"No, I forgot to bring them with me."

"Good thing your mother is home then." Cassie wasn't sure she agreed with that. Diana rapped her knuckles neatly against the door.

The door opened quickly and Helena Sandsmark stood there looking slightly frazzled. "Diana?"

"Helena, it's good to see you," Diana replied warmly.

"Cassie!" Helena shrieked. "Where have you been? I've been so worried."

And this was part of the reason why Cassie had been hoping her mom was out.

Diana looked back over her shoulder at Cassie. "You didn't tell her that you were with me?"

Cassie hunched her shoulders up.

"No, she didn't," her mom said shrilly. "I've been trying to phone you for hours now."

"I left my phone in my room," Cassie said in a small voice. This was true; she had left her phone in her room. She just neglected to say that she had done it on purpose.

Her mother looked pretty pissed. Diana was, thankfully, her usual calm self. "You left your keys and your phone? That was irresponsible of you," she remarked.

And this was where the telling off was going to start. Her mother was going to yell herself red in the face but it would be Diana's quiet disappointment that would sting the most.

Helena's mouth opened ready to start shouting, but then her eyes went wide and she stared right at Cassie over Diana's shoulder, and it was like she had just seen her properly. "Why are you being carried?" She sounded worried. She looked to Diana. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing serious," Diana answered. "We were..." She trailed off and then sighed. "Cassandra, you didn't tell your mother what we were doing, did you?"

Cassie hunched her shoulders up even more, trying desperately to disappear into herself.

"Can I come in, Helena?" Diana requested. "And I'll explain everything."

Helena's face had gone red with anger. She looked from Diana and then to Cassie who was trying to hide behind Wonder Woman, and then back to Diana again, her eyes wide. Finally she threw up her hands. "Fine. Come in."

/\/\/\

Hissing, Cassie sank gratefully into the steaming hot bath. The water was scalding hot, even to her. Anyone else would probably have been burned quite badly, but then most other people didn't have Cassie's powers. The water felt good on her aching limbs, eased a lot of the tension she felt there. She was still going to be sore in the morning though. She sank down till the water was at her chin.

It hadn't been pleasant when Diana had explained to Helena that she had been training her daughter. Her mom had freaked out and started yelling about how children shouldn't be training to fight, how she should have been consulted, and about how she was so very much not okay about all of this. It had been about that time that Cassie had been sent hobbling up the stairs.

Diana was still here. Cassie could hear her arguing with her mom. Well, she could hear her mom shouting, Diana was speaking too quietly for Cassie to hear.

"She's only a child... You can't do this to her... You should have spoken to me about it... I am her mother!" It went on and on, with only brief moments between bellows where Diana was probably interjecting, but that was lost to Cassie.

She dunked her head under the water. She didn't want to hear what her mom was saying. She'd known that she wouldn't approve of Cassie training, of her wanting to become a superhero. Did she expect Cassie to pretend that she didn't have powers? That was impossible. She had them and she was going to use them to help people. She actually thought she was being pretty responsible by asking Wonder Woman to train her.

She exhaled; blowing bubbles and watching them rise to the surface in a steady stream. She hoped that Diana was fighting her side, but knew that Diana would in all likely-hood agree with her mom. Cassie had ruined her own chances by lying.

She sat back up and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Her arms and legs still hurt but it was more of a dull ache now. Cassie looked around the small, untidy bathroom. There was barely enough room in here for two people; just the bath, toilet and sink squashed in. Cassie's clothes were dumped on the floor. The door was pushed to rather than closed so that Cassie would be able to her what was going on downstairs.

It had gone quiet though. Her mom must have finally shouted herself out. Cassie strained her ears trying to hear what was going on downstairs. All she could hear was indistinct murmurs. She could easily tell the difference between Diana's soothing tones and her mother's wavering pitch.

A short moment later Cassie heard the front door open and then close. Diana must have left, leaving Cassie on her own, and she knew what was going to happen next.

There was a soft tapping at the bathroom door and then it was pushed open. Her mom stepped in the room. She looked tired; her glasses were pushed up on her head, keeping a tangle of hair off of her face. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, and the lines on her face looked deeper and more pronounced. Cassie felt more than a little guilty.

Helena stooped down and picked up Cassie's discarded clothes, and she started to fold them. She put the toilet lid down and then sat on it, looking at Cassie.

"You're folding dirty clothes," Cassie said.

Helena sighed. She rubbed at her eyes and then pinched at the bridge of her nose. "Cassie..."

"I know, I know," Cassie said sitting up and throwing up her hands, splashing water over the side of the bath. "I should have talked to you first, I should have asked for your permission, but, mom, this is my life and these are my powers. It'd my decision what I want to do with them."

"You're fourteen," Helena said sounding like she was trying very hard to be patient. "You don't get to make these decisions. I do."

"No you don't. These are my powers. My responsibility."

"And you are my responsibility." Now she sounded angry. "For god's sake Cassie, look at yourself. You can barely stand. And don't pretend like you're not in pain, because it's plain to see that you are."

Cassie could hardly deny that. She sank lower into the bath. "It'll get better," she said, her voice sounding small again.

"You're not doing it again. I spoke to Diana."

"Yeah, I heard you screaming at her."

"Enough Cassie," Helena said sharply. She huffed an annoyed breath before continuing, "Diana said that she'll teach you to control your powers..."

Cassie sat up, hardly daring to hope.

"... But she's not going to train you to fight."

"What? Mom!" Cassie whined. "I want to learn to fight. I want to use my powers for good, to help people."

"You can still help people without needing to fight. Besides." Helena stood up and gestured towards Cassie. "I don't at all approve of Diana's training methods. I don't care if she is Wonder Woman; she doesn't get to hurt my daughter like this."

"I'm not hurt that bad," Cassie mumbled lamely. Her mom's concern and protectiveness was appreciated but not wanted, especially not now and not with this. "It'll get better, get easier," Cassie said, still hoping to sway her mother. "The first training sessions will always be the hardest, right? And I'm pretty sure she made this one extra hard. Like she was trying to scare me off."

"Cassie..."

"But she didn't, see? She put me through all that and I still want her to train me."

Her mom actually smiled, a sad weary smile, but a smile nonetheless. "You're not selling this to me. 'Put you though all that?' What did she do to you?"

"She kicked the crap outta me!" Cassie said happily.

Her mom put her face inn her hands. Perhaps that hadn't been the smartest thing to tell her.

"I'm sorry Cassie, but no. You cannot train with Wonder Woman."

"Mom!"

"That's my final answer." Helena crossed the small room, opened the door and then paused. "And don't even bother lying to Diana again. I made her promise that she wouldn't train you to fight. Ever."

"Mom, no!" Cassie yelled. But her mom ignored her and left, closing the door behind her.

Diana always kept her promises. Her mom had ruined everything. Cassie let out a frustrated shriek and retreated back under the bath water.

/\/\/\

The next day Cassie hadn't been able to move. Her muscles seized up over night and she spent the entire day in bed pretending that she wasn't in agony. She didn't want to get Diana into even more trouble with her mom.

The day after she was sort of able to move, but each twitch elicited a gasp of pain and each brush of her limbs against anything made her cry out. By the time she climbed out of bed and got to her feet she was crying.

In all her little fantasies about Wonder Woman training her not a single one had included her being hurt this badly.

Eventually her mom, looking somewhere between worried and livid, called Diana and asked her to come back. Her mom definitely was not pleased. Cassie could tell by her mother's expression and the tone she spoke Diana's name in that she had soured her mom's friendship with Diana.

Great. Something else to feel guilty about.

Thankfully Diana came round straight away. She stood in the doorway of Cassie's room looking concerned but not at all guilty that she had been the cause of Cassie's pain. She exchanged a quick glance with Helena, whose cool gaze might have made a lesser woman wither, and then wordlessly went to see to Cassie. She put her fingers to some of Cassie's pressure points and massaged her aching muscles, testing the threshold to Cassie's tolerance to pain. She ignored Cassie sharp cries of agony and her hissed breathing, she ignored that Cassie was once again crying with actual tears running down her cheeks, and she ignored Helena's angry noises.

Cassie was starting to realise that Diana was remarkably good at ignoring things. She was also very good at inflicting pain upon people and could probably take up a career as a professional torturer. Cassie wasn't sure if that was still a profession, but if it was then Diana would be a shoe-in.

And then it got easier. The pain subsided and gave way to relaxing pleasure, and Cassie's cries turned to grateful moans. The tension left her muscles and they unlocked, her limbs felt more rubbery and there was warmth where Diana's fingers pressed into her flesh.

Of course without the distraction of pain the entire process became so much more embarrassing. Cassie became uncomfortably aware that Diana was running her hands over her body; up her arms, squeezing her biceps, her shoulders, round her back, and even her stomach and chest. Her legs were easily the most embarrassing though. Diana's long fingers ran up from Cassie's feet, slipping behind her calf and up to – who'd have thought that fingertips brushing against the back of her knees could feel so damn good? – and then up her thighs and even higher.

By the time Diana was finished Cassie's face was burning red hot.

"Does that feel better?" Diana asked, moving back from Cassie and taking no notice of her embarrassment

"S-sure!" Cassie said a little too loudly and keeping her eyes on the floor. She didn't think she'd ever be able to look Diana in the face again. She tested her limbs, moving her arms gingerly and lifting her legs. It didn't hurt, at least not like it had before. She smiled. "Loads better."

"Good." Diana sounded pleased. "I could have done this for her yesterday." That was directed at Cassie's mom, and Cassie could hear the reproach in Diana's voice.

Cassie looked to her mom. Helena was glaring daggers at Diana. "You shouldn't have had to do it at all."

Diana actually looked a little sad. "No, I think this would always have been necessary." She turned to Cassie. "I'll see you at the weekend then?"

Cassie nodded. Something felt wrong. The room had felt a little tense since Diana had first walked in, her mom's anger was difficult not to notice, but now the tension was stifling. Her mom still looked pissed but there was something else in her expression and in the rigid way she held herself, something that looked an awful lot like fear.

And there was still a sadness to Diana, like she was resigned to doing something she didn't want to.

Cassie just felt confused. There was something going on here that she didn't understand. If she wasn't still feeling mortified by Diana's earlier ministrations then she probably would have felt quite pissed off.

"That's good." Diana placed her hand firmly on Cassie's shoulder, grasping it. Cassie actually managed t look up from her feet and look Diana in her eye, though she felt her cheeks heat up once more as she did so. Diana's gaze was intense, and made Cassie feel a little uncomfortable. "I'll see you then. Stay safe." And then she turned to leave.

Confused didn't begin to describe how Cassie felt. Diana was freaking her out. She forced a smile and little laugh to her voice and joking said, "What, no 'may the gods be with you'?"

Diana paused at the door. "Sometimes it is for the best that the gods not be with you."

Cassie stared at her in disbelief, her mouth hanging open. The most common departure she ever heard from Diana was one that involved the blessings of the gods. This was just not at all like her. Cassie expected Diana to say more but she didn't, she simply left.

Cassie turned to her mom. "Well that was weird," she said.

Her mom had gone very pale, her lips were pressed into a thin hard line, and she was staring at the vacant door where Diana had just been.

"And things just get weirder," Cassie muttered. She made a show of moving her arms and stepped into her mom's line of vision. "I feel loads better," she declared loudly, swinging her arms in circles. "Diana did a great job fixing me up."

Her mom's eyes snapped to her, and once more she looked angry. "Yes. Well. Now you can go to school."

"What? Mom!" Cassie whined.

"No excuses, Cassie. Get ready and I'll drive you. Now!"

Cassie made an annoyed noise but it was mostly for show. She was glad that if only for a brief moment things seemed back to normal.

Still, something was going on and she was going to find out what.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, please leave a review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is both welcome and appreciated.**

**Some notes: I decided to go down the ambassador route for Diana's "day job", although the embassy will now be located in Washington rather than New York since in the Young Justice universe that is where Diana lives. **

**This is obviously set before Cassie is Wonder Girl and before she joins The Team. I'd like to think you got that from reading this, but just in case you didn't I'm pointing it out here.**

_**Temper **_**as in tempering a blade rather than having one. **


	2. Chapter 2

It might actually have been the longest week of Cassie's life. By the time the weekend arrived she would have sworn that an entire month has passed.

Cassie got up early on the Saturday and only had a small breakfast. If she needed to she would grab something either on the way at the Themysciran embassy or when she got there. Her mom had already gone to work at the museum, so Cassie didn't need to worry about her.

The Embassy of Themyscira was either one of the most beautiful buildings Cassie had ever seen or one of the most ridiculous. It was a horrible mish-mash of ancient Greek architecture and something modern-faux classical; the bastard child of antiquated contemporary sensibilities. It was all white, with tall windows, a huge heavy door atop stone steps; two huge columns supported a balcony that over looked the street. Ostentatious didn't do it justice.

Cassie crossed over the street, ignoring the flock of tourists that were taking pictures of the embassy, and skipped up the steps two at a time. On either side of the door were stone lions, beautifully carved but quite hideous to look at. They were hulking beasts, with huge bodies and heads that looked too large for them. Their mouths were open, and Cassie knew that she could easily fit her entire head in either ones gaping maw.

She smiled at them as she passed. "Morning boys," she said brightly.

"Morning Cassandra," was the rumbling reply from one of the stone beasts.

Not even bothering to knock, Cassie wrenched the huge door and slipped inside the embassy. Inside the main foyer was a bustle of commotion and activity. Assistants and aides flittered to and fro; visitors loitered admiring the faux-Amazon decor, and even the odd Amazon sauntered past looking impressively tall and intimidating. Cassie ignored them and went straight to the kitchen.

"Morning Cassie," Ferdinand the embassy chef greeted. He was at the other end of the kitchen, his back to Cassie so who knew how he could tell it was her, but he always seemed to know. "You're here early."

"Morning. And yeah, got some training to do with Diana." Cassie sat at the large table, resting her elbows on it. "You making crepes?"

"I am. Would you like one?" Ferdinand looked back over his shoulder, smiling. Cassie always felt amused to see his tiny glasses delicately perched on his large bull-snout.

"Yeah, I would," she said, grinning. She had been shocked the first time that she had met Ferdinand, but the shock had quickly been swallowed by excited curiosity. He was a Minotaur and that, quite possibly, had been the very best thing Cassie had ever seen. He had been quick to correct her that the Minotaur was from Minos, and since he was from Kithira, he was technically a Kith-o-taur. That hadn't at all impacted Cassie's enthusiasm though.

"Raspberry or chocolate?" Ferdinand asked.

"Both. Why would I choose between them?"

Ferdinand chuckled at that. "Why indeed. Here you go." He placed a small plate with two perfectly rolled crepes on them before her. They were both stuffed with raspberries and smothered in chocolate sauce. He handed her a fork. "Enjoy!"

Cassie did. She dug into the crepes enthusiastically, making exaggerated moans of enjoyment as she did so.

Part way through her breakfast Diana made her grand appearance, sweeping into the room like a goddess from the waves. She'd clearly just got out of bed, she was wearing a silk dressing gown tied loosely about her waist, and her hair was slightly ruffled.

"Good morning Ferdinand, Cassandra." She smiled at them both and set about making herself a cup of tea. "You're here early," she said to Cassie.

"You told me to be here early," Cassie replied.

Diana sat at the table with her cup of what looked to be Green tea and the newspaper. "I suppose I did."

"You're up late," said Ferdinand as he busied himself making more crepes." Late night?"

"Unfortunately yes. I only got in a few hours ago." Diana sipped her tea and spread the paper out before her, her eyes scanning over the front page. "Cheetah's on the prowl again."

Cassie leaned forward wanting to hear every detail.

"You didn't catch her?" Ferdinand's question held no accusation, he sounded curious and concerned.

"No," Diana said. "She broke into a genetics lab, an off shoot of Cale Pharmaceuticals. I have no idea what she wanted. I've been assured that nothing is missing, and beyond some damage to property, nothing of significance was destroyed. It's a curious move for Dr. Minerva."

"Was anyone killed?"

Cassie threw a disbelieving look at Ferdinand. If anyone had been killed then Diana wouldn't look so calm, and she would have started the conversation speaking about the victim. She wouldn't even be here; if Cheetah had killed someone then Diana wouldn't rest until she had caught her. Didn't he know that?

Diana grimaced. "Thankfully no. A security guard was injured, but it doesn't appear to be too serious." She sipped her tea again. "The doctors involved have been informed that Minerva's bite can cause severe bacterial infection. He should make a full recovery."

"Raspberry or chocolate?"

"Don't we have any blueberries?"

"Sorry, we're out. I can send someone out for some if you like."

"No, that's alright."

"Have both," Cassie chimed in.

"That's a little too indulgent for the morning," Diana said, smiling. "Raspberry will be fine."

"So what happens now with Cheetah?" Cassie, arguably being the world's biggest Wonder Woman fan knew everything there was to know about Wonder Woman's villains. She knew that Barbara Minerva wasn't the first woman to claim the mantle of the villainess Cheetah but the third, both Pricilla Rich and Deborah Domaine preceded her. She also knew that Minerva was the most blood thirsty and dangerous of them.

"I'll have to find her and stop her before she hurts anyone else." Diana looked sad at the prospect. That didn't make much sense to Cassie; Cheetah was a bad guy and needed to be brought to justice. It didn't seem wrong to take pleasure in saving people and kicking evil's butt.

Ferdinand placed a plate of crepes before Diana.

"No fair!"Cassie cried indignantly. "How come you get four?"

Diana picked up her fork and delicately sliced off an edge of a crepe, popping it into her mouth and then smiled at Cassie. "Because I'm the ambassador."

Cassie stuck her tongue out at her and Diana laughed. "Let me eat breakfast and then I'll get changed and – barring any emergencies – we can get started on your training."

It didn't matter that they would be doing boring control exercises, Cassie grinned with barely suppressed excitement.

/\/\/\

Breakfast took far too long, and then Diana took an age getting changed, and then she got side tracked by a phone call from some European politician or something. Cassie had ended up eating more crepes while she waited. By the time she made her down into the training room she felt quite bloated.

Diana was dressed in all white, soft cotton trousers and a loose shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a loose pony tail. Once again her feet were bare. Cassie followed her across the room trying not to think about her own scruffy clothes that looked far too colourful and tawdry next to Diana's simple elegance.

"We're just going to be doing some breathing exercises today," Diana explained. "And we'll work our way up from there. After several months you should be able to restrain your strength without even trying. You'll be able to play sports again without worrying about hurting your friends."

Cassie cringed. "You heard about that?"

"That you broke a boy's arm at school? Yes, your mother told me."

"I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't, Cassandra. With the help of these exercises you'll never unintentionally hurt someone again. Now." Diana stopped and turned. "Sit down cross-legged. Keep your back straight and your head up."

Cassie did as she was told, trying to ignore how hard the floor was on her butt. Diana also sat down, facing across from Cassie, and looking entirely more regal.

"Close your eyes. Inhale, hold the breath for a moment, and then exhale."

Again Cassie did as instructed, feeling silly. She listened as Diana continued to talk about breathing, about new age crap like drawing in positive energy and expelling negative energy. She tried to pay attention as Diana started to describe her breath drawing into her body, and Cassie tried to do as she was told when Diana encouraged her to do the same.

Cassie didn't see the point in all this. She had understood in theory that breathing exercises would be boring, but that hadn't at all prepared her for the reality of it. Why did she need to do this? Didn't she, like, breathe all the time? Surely after fourteen years of breathing she was a certifiable expert in it.

And then the floor was extremely uncomfortable. Cassie's bony butt had been aching after ten minutes of sitting, they were close to an hour at this point of sitting in the same position and she was in agony. She wasn't used to sitting ram-rod straight so her shoulders and neck burned with the effort. And what the hell was she supposed to do with her hands? Should she put them on her knees? In her lap? Do a traditional and stereotypical meditating gesture? Should she be saying _"Ommmmmm"_ round about now?

This was just too frustrating.

Cassie opened an eye and peaked at Diana. She was near stock-still, her eyes closed and a serene expression on her face as she droned on.

Cassie had thought that she would never find Wonder Woman boring. Cassie had been wrong.

She closed her eye and let out a small huff, interrupting Diana's monotonous flow.

"I'm sorry Cassandra, did you say something?"

Cassie opened her eyes and looked at Diana. She didn't look angry, not really, but she didn't look exactly pleased either.

"Nope, I didn't say a thing."

Diana looked sceptical but she didn't push the subject. "Let's continue then shall we?"

"I guess," Cassie sighed.

Diana raised her hand indicating that they were pausing. "I get the impression that you're not enthused by this line of training."

Cassie shrugged. "It's not that, it's just that..." she looked down, not meeting Diana's eyes. Her fingers fidgeted in her lap. "This is kinda boring."

To her surprise Diana looked sympathetic. "I understand. But it's only as boring as you make it."

Cassie stared at her. "That doesn't make any sense. I can't make it boring, it just is."

"Would it surprise you to learn that when I was your age I also found these exercises boring?"

Cassie wasn't sure she believed her, but she had never known Diana to lie so it must be true." You did?"

Diana nodded, smiling whimsically. She stretched out on long leg, and leaned back. "Yes. Compared to combat training, astrology, studying history, philosophy and tactics; sitting down and breathing seemed very uninteresting by comparison. I used to avoid my lessons, run off and explore the island. Of course my teachers would always find me and bring me back, making me completes my lessons and then there would be a punishment to do as well."

"Is this going to be one of those stories with a moral at the end?"

"Possibly. Would you like me to skip to the moral?"

Cassie shrugged.

"I am considerably stronger than my sisters," Diana explained. "Even though I did not enjoy those lessons I needed to learn them. Learning to control my strength, learning restraint, it helped me when it came to my combat training, where control is very important."

"Yeah but you got to do the fun stuff as well," Cassie pointed out. It was fine Diana claiming that she understood Cassie's frustration, but their situations were not at all the same. "I'm just going to have boring lessons with none of the fun. It's not fair."

"I sympathise, but I agree with your mother."

"You were happy to train me before," Cassie muttered.

"You lied to me." There was an edge to Diana's voice, like this was a conversation they were always going to have but she had been putting off.

Cassie felt herself deflate. She looked down at the floor guiltily. She hadn't wanted to lie to Diana, and she hadn't taken any pleasure from doing it, it had just been a necessary evil.

"You told me that your mother had given you permission to train."

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are." Did she really have to sound so understanding? Sometimes it would be easier if Diana were to yell at her. At least then Cassie could yell back. This whole quiet, calm and understanding thing just left her feeling really guilty.

"They're my powers I should be able to do what I want with them."

"Agreed. But you are still a child and your mother is only doing what is best for you."

Cassie stared at Diana. "You think I should have say over what I do with my own powers, but you also think that my mom should have control over me? That doesn't make any sense!"

"I think that as your guardian your mother has the right to make these decisions for you. She is only trying to protect you. However," Diana raised a finger cutting off Cassie's imminent interruption, "once you are an adult your choices are you own."

Cassie slumped in disappointment. "Great. Only four years to go before I can make my own decisions." She looked up at Diana. "You weren't that much older than me when you debuted as Wonder Woman."

Diana seemed a little surprised by the direction the conversation. Her head tilted to the side and a slight frown marred her perfect features. "True," she said slowly. "But I was still older than you. In hindsight, I would question whether I was actually ready to leave Themyscira, to go out in the world, to fight in a war. Perhaps one of my sisters would have handled it differently."

Cassie sat up straighter. This was the kind of conversation she much preferred having with Diana, ions where she talked about her past adventures as Wonder Woman.

"You won the contest though," Cassie said. "You were the best to send."

"I did. But I was little more than a child, and a child shouldn't have had to have seen or done what I did."

This wasn't where Cassie had wanted the conversation to go. She wanted stories of Diana fighting Cheetah or Baroness Von Gunthar, not ones about Diana feeling maudlin over the horrors of war.

"You regret it?"

"No, not at all." Diana smiled softly. "I did too much good and met too many wonderful people to ever regret. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything."

"Well..." Cassie shrugged. "Shouldn't I be able to make my own decisions about my life, and then regret it if I mess up? Like you did by entering the contest in disguise?"

Diana's head tipped back and she let loose a peal of laughter. "Very good, Cassandra, you took control of the conversation quite aptly and I find myself in a corner." She pushed herself to her feet and held out her hand to Cassie, pulling her to her feet also. "Yes and no. I will not go against your mother's wishes. But if you wish to learn to defend yourself then I think the option should be available to you and it should be your choice to make. However!" she held up her hand to silence what was going to be Cassie's excitement. "Even if your mother did allow that, I would not take you on as a protégé or a..." her lip curled showing her distaste, "sidekick. Children should not fight. I do not agree with those who involve children with their own personal vendettas. This is not a game. People get hurt. People die. Children should enjoy the luxury of their youth while they have it."

To say that Cassie was crushed would be an understatement. There were no words to describe her disappointment. Despite what had happened with her mom and with Diana she still held onto the hope that Diana would change her mind, or was just waiting for Helena to change hers. Diana's words here though had just puffed out the uttering flame of Cassie's hopes and dreams.

Even if Diana trained her, Cassie would never fight alongside Wonder Woman.

"Oh," Cassie said quietly.

"I am sorry, Cassandra."

Cassie's throat had gone tight. She couldn't think what to say. She licked her dry lips and sucked in a quick breath.

"I think that we've done enough for today." Diana put her hand on Cassie's shoulder. It was probably meant to be a comforting gesture, but her hand felt like a lead weight and Cassie desperately wished that she would just take it off of her. She wished Diana wasn't standing so close to her, that they weren't in the same room even.

She was Cassie's hero. She had idolised Wonder Woman for years before she had even met her. Knowing her had just intensified that feeling of near-worship. Diana was everything she wanted to be – kind, strong, intelligent, and, yeah even though it was probably shallow, beautiful. And now Diana was telling Cassie that she couldn't be like her that she neither approved of now wanted Cassie to fight alongside her.

There was an unseen force crushing Cassie's chest, the tightness in her throat was worse than ever and hurt.

She shrugged off Diana's hand and stepped back from her.

"Cassandra."

Diana's voice sounded far away.

Cassie turned and walked away. Her eyes were stinging, but she would not cry. Not now, not in front of her. To do so would be childish.

"Cassandra," Diana called after her. "I am trying to protect you."

The little flickering candle of hope that Diana had so deliberately extinguished suddenly reignited with the intense fury of anger, and Cassie whirled round to face Diana, her face screwed up in rage. "Protect me?" She yelled incredulously. "How? By treating me like I'm made of glass?"

Diana didn't reply. She just stood there looking sad.

Cassie scrubbed furiously at her face with the back of her arm, wiping away the tears she had been so determined not to shed. She turned away from Diana, her false idol, and stormed from the room.

Diana didn't try to stop her.

/\/\/\

Cassie's anger at Wonder Woman didn't dissipate. She should have gone back to the embassy to continue her training the following Saturday but didn't, nor did she go the next Saturday or the Saturday after that.

She didn't hear from Diana, but knew that she had been in contact with her mom. She didn't think that Diana told her mom what had happened, at least not in full detail. Her mom though knew that something had happened but she thankfully didn't try to dig the truth out.

Which was good, Cassie was in no mood to spill what Diana had said. She especially didn't want to tell her mom that she had secretly been hoping that would take her on as a protégé, or sidekick as the popular term seemed to be. Everyone knew that Batman had a Robin, and there were plenty of rumours that Superman had a Superboy, why couldn't Wonder Woman have a Wonder Girl? How could Wonder Woman take such a different stance on the issue from so many of her Justice League allies?

Cassie knew that if her mom were to hear what she wanted and what Diana had said she would be of the opinion that good, Cassie shouldn't be fighting.

So Cassie ignored them both; not seeing Diana at all and suffering through awkward meal time conversations with her mom.

She spent most of her time hidden away up in her room surrounded by Wonder Woman memorabilia that she used to be so proud of but now only left a sour taste in her mouth.

When she wasn't at home she was at school where everyday normality threatened to drive her mad.

Her friends didn't seem to notice her sullen mood; they were too distracted by more important things, like what boy they liked. Once Cassie would have joined in these conversations too, but now she sat in silence and tried to ignore Tammy and Georgia's blathering.

"He was totally looking at me."

"No way."

"Seriously. It was like the movies, y'know? Everything slowed down, like we the only ones there."

Giggles.

"Our eyes met across the room." More giggles

"Time slowed down." Even more giggles.

Cassie kept her head down and gritted her teeth. She scribbled in her notebook trying to ignore them. But if she ignored them then her thoughts were interrupted by the chatter of all the other students. It was difficult to say which was more annoying, her friends' gossip or the general ruckus of the school cafeteria.

She looked down at her doodles and realised that far too many of the looked like scratchy stylised W's. It seemed that as angry as she was she still had Wonder Woman on the brain.

Angrily Cassie scribbled over these offensive little W's, trying to blot them out of existence. It didn't seem to matter how much ink she wasted though she could still make them out.

She continued to move her pen across the page in furious movements. She pressed too hard and ripped through several pages of the notebook, the pen snapping in her iron grip. Ink leaked over her hand, staining the ruined notebook and obliterating the few W's that had escaped her wrath.

She looked up to find that Tammy and Georgia were staring at her. She put her broken pen down gently and gave them a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

Her friends exchanged a glance.

"You okay there?" Tammy asked.

"Absolutely fine," Cassie lied.

"Uh-huh." Georgia didn't sound at all convinced. She shared another look with Tammy, and Cassie clearly heard what was unsaid, _"weirdo."_

Sighing, Cassie crumpled up the ruined pages from her notebook, salvaging what little was left. She dropped it in her bag and wiped the ink off of her hand, her broken pen left forgotten on the table. She was kind of glad that the pen had broke and ruined her doodles, she didn't want her friends seeing what she was drawing. They already thought that she obsessed about Wonder Woman too much.

Tammy and Georgia had gone back to their super important conversation about The Boy of the Month. Cassie couldn't summon the effort to even pretend to be interested, so she folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them.

She couldn't ignore Diana forever, eventually she would have to talk to her, even if that was just to tell her that she didn't want to train anymore.

Somehow Cassie didn't think that Diana would take "no" for an answer and just disappear from Cassie's life.

Did she really not want Wonder Woman in her life?

Cassie had idolised Wonder Woman for what felt like forever. The idea of never speaking to her again sent a ripple of panic through her. Diana had become more than a hero to her this past year that Cassie had known her, she had become an unintentional mentor and, more importantly, she had become a friend.

The thought of her not being in Cassie's life didn't sound at all good. It felt very wrong in fact.

What was she supposed to do then? Should she go apologise? And then what was she apologising for? Acting like a brat?

Perhaps Diana should apologise to her for raising her hopes so high and letting them fall and break. Perhaps she should apologise for hurting Cassie during their first training session. At no point had she shown any remorse for that.

She didn't expect to get any kind of apology from Diana, but that didn't matter. After school she would go to the embassy and she would apologise to Diana for her attitude, and then she would ask Diana to train her again.

That decision made Cassie felt a sense of relief. Diana was the forgiving type, so Cassie knew that so long as her apology as sincere Diana would accept it.

"Oh, shit!"

Cassie looked up and across the hall to where the shout had come from. Tammy and Georgia were also up and alert, looking towards the gathering crowd around one of tables. A quick scan of the hall showed that several students were following that one table's example and were all crowding round staring at their phones or Q-pads or Wayne tech equivalents.

"What's going on?" Tammy asked.

Georgia dug her phone out of her bag and looked at it.

"Well, what is it?" Tammy demanded.

"How should I know?" Georgia replied crossly, "I don't know what they're looking at."

Cassie quickly went to one of the tables next to theirs and grabbed the nearest boy's arm to get his attention. "What's everyone going crazy about?" she asked.

"Super villain showdown," he said without even looking at her. He was grinning and his eyes were fixed on the small screen of his friends' phone.

Cassie hurried back to her friends. She didn't blame the boy for sounding excited; she felt a thrill as well. Hopefully a news crew were there and were catching every moment on camera.

Oh, and hopefully no one had been hurt. Unless it was the villain, which would be a-okay.

"News. Find a news site," Cassie told Georgia. She huddled up close to her friend and looked over her shoulder as Georgia looked for a news site. Tammy was perched over Georgia's other shoulder, leaning in so far that she was practically in the way of Cassie's view.

"Wonder who it is."

"Must be a big fight if everyone's freaking out."

"There." Cassie pressed her finger to the screen and brought up a site that was running updates on the situation. "Wonder Woman fights Cheetah at Cale Pharmaceuticals..." Cassie read. There were pictures of the building; windows were broken, a wall had collapsed and there was smoke rising out of part of it. Several employees had been evacuated and were stood around in groups looking terrified.

"That looks bad," Georgia said sounding excited at the prospect.

"Wonder Woman will beat her," Cassie said confidently. Cheetah was no match for Diana.

Georgia's thumb scrolled down the screen looking for more recent updates. "There's a video!"

She clicked on it and Cassie watched the blurry video that someone in the building had clearly filmed on their phone. Like every other opportunistic film maker the guy couldn't hold his phone still at all and images of what might have been Cheetah flicked in and out of view at random as his hand shook.

Just once Cassie would like for someone with a steady hand to film one of these fights. How was she supposed to watch Wonder Woman kick butt if she couldn't see what was going on?

The video showed the first clear view of Cheetah. She came crashing through a wall, tumbling over and over before stopping in a heap.

Cassie whooped a cheer.

Cheetah uncoiled, her movements slow, insidious, and deliberately measured. Cassie could hear her low growl. She looked different, bigger maybe, but that might have just been because the guy with the phone was standing so close to her.

He was backing away now though, scrambling to put some distance between him and the villainess. The video showed more floor and wall as he put distance between him and Cheetah.

The video steadied and swung to the side, showing the hole in the wall that Cheetah had made, and Cassie smiled, recognising the golden glow emanating through the clouds of dust.

Cassie's smile faltered.

Wonder Woman stumbled through the broken wall. She had one hand pressed tightly to her side, the lasso clenched tight in her other hand. Her hair was plastered to her face and neck. Even through the blurry image Cassie could see that she was hurt. She was standing all wrong, favouring one leg, hunched over, and her mouth open as she sucked in air.

Cassie went cold. This was wrong. It didn't happen like this, Wonder Woman was one of the good guys, and the good guys always won. That was just how it was. They didn't lose, and they didn't get injured.

Wonder Woman especially didn't lose. She couldn't lose. She was Wonder Woman for Christ's sake!

The video ended. Cassie stared at the phone in Georgia's hand, her heart thudding against her chest. Her friends were talking excitedly but Cassie couldn't hear them. She kept replaying the image of Diana, bruised and dirty, standing in the rubble; all she could hear was Cheetah's growl, low and terrible.

Cassie's stomach was in knots. Diana would be alright. She was Wonder Woman, one of the strongest heroes on the planet. She had beaten Cheetah loads of times before.

She would win this fight.

But what if she didn't?

Cassie turned and bolted from the hall, forgetting that wasn't supposed to use her powers. To hell with the rules! Wonder Woman needed her, and Cassie needed super-speed to get there as quick as she could.

/\/\/\

Cale Pharmaceuticals had been cordoned off by the police. They had circled the building and were stopping anyone from getting in and out of the building. There were also ambulances present to treat the various employees that had escaped from the fight, and also, naturally, several news teams reporting on the carnage.

None of this proved a problem for Cassie. Before she even got close to the rabble of people she jumped, sailing clear over their heads and landing to a skidding stop at the smashed up entrance of the building.

Behind her she heard people start to yell, the police ordering her back and the press demanding to know who she was and how she got here. She ignored them and ran into the building.

The power must have been cut as only the emergency lights were on, glowing dimply and occasionally flickering. Cassie didn't know where she was going and so instead ran blind, hoping that she'd eventually find Wonder Woman or Cheetah.

Preferably Wonder Woman.

She came to a stop. What the hell would she do if she ran into Cheetah? Too late now. She really should have considered that before she came here.

She set off again, walking this time instead of running. Stealth would probably be the best option. She really didn't want to alert Cheetah to her presence.

She had no idea where she was going. One corridor looked just like the last. She walked in a half-crouch, her breathing quick, and her heart hammering.

She turned one corner, following the corridor to its end and then turned another corner that was identical to the last. Wash, rinse, repeat. She was lost in a maze. How the hell did anyone who worked here know where they were going?

She peered through the doors that were dotted up the corridors, but found nothing of any interest in them.

Had she gone the wrong way? Were Cheetah and Wonder Woman on the other side of the building?

Cassie was about to give up and turn back when she turned the umpteenth corner and found the passage way beyond it to be very different to all the others. It was covered in rubble, one of the walls having been completely destroyed.

"Follow the destruction," Cassie whispered with a smile.

The path became progressively worse. Doors cracked in two, hanging off their hinges; collapsed walls, and the ceiling occasionally sagging as though under a great weight. Lights were smashed; glass and plastic littered below them, and wires hung like vines from the jungle canopy. There were claw marks across the floor, deep gouges where Cheetah had been; there were also holes that Cassie guessed had been made by Wonder Woman's fists.

More disturbingly was the blood. It started small, the odd spatter, but the further Cassie travelled into the bowels of the building the worse it became: Splashes of it on the wall or floor, a streak that looked like a hand had swiped across the once white wall.

Cassie shuddered. Was it Diana's blood? She hoped not. She tried not to think about an injured Wonder Woman, that Diana could be hurt or worse.

She heard a noise, faint and in the distance. Someone was moving across rubble. She hurried towards it.

_I'm coming, Diana._

It didn't matter that Cheetah was here, that she was hopelessly out-matched; she had to help her friend.

The noise became louder as Cassie drew closer, the sound of feet on rubble, the crash of a body into a wall. She heard Cheetah's hissing growl and her blood ran cold with fear.

"Stop this, Minerva!"

_Diana!_

Cassie rushed on. She came to a stop as the floor disappeared, broken through by the fighting. Below she could see a room that might once have been a lab. It was buried under debris though, the equipment flung carelessly about.

She could hear the fighting, the screech of Cheetah's claws against Diana's bracelets.

Without looking Cassie jumped down. She was just in time to see Wonder Woman kick Cheetah through the wall, the plaster exploded from the force of her body hitting it, and she disappeared. The resulting crashes that flowed told Cassie that Cheetah had gone through several walls.

Wonder Woman went down to one knee.

Cassie hurried over to her. "Diana!"

Wonder Woman's head whipped round to face her. Her left eye was closed, and the right had a glazed look to it. Four long scratches ran down her face from the top left to the bottom right, cutting though the closed eye, across her nose and splitting her lips.

"Cassandra? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to help you." Cassie knelt down in front of her. She took Wonder Woman by the shoulders and scanned over injuries. The scratches to her face looked as though they were already healing, they were scabbed over, the skin just around them pink and a little inflamed, there was dried blood mixed with sweat and grime caked down her neck and her chest. There were fresh scratches to her arms and legs though and those were still bleeding. Worryingly she still had her hand pressed to her left side like she had in the video.

Wonder Woman grabbed her by the shoulder. There was a wild almost panicked look in her eye. "You shouldn't be here. You have to leave. Now!"

"I can help you."

"You can help me by leaving!"

"You're hurt," Cassie insisted. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. There was tightness there that made it difficult to swallow or even breathe properly. She had never seen Wonder Woman hurt, not really, not like this. The sight of it terrified her. Diana had always seemed so in control, so self-assured that she seemed invincible. To see her now, on her knees, dirty and battered, was scary. It rocked Cassie's very perception of the woman before her, brought her down a little, and made her seem so much more human than she ever had before.

She was frail and she could break.

Something like desperation was clawing up Cassie's throat. She was scared, terrified right down to the marrow in her bones, but that didn't mean she couldn't help.

"Please. I can help you,"

Wonder Woman hauled herself to her feet, using Cassie as support. She grunted with the effort and even when she was on her feet she didn't look steady.

She opened her mouth to say something, but froze, her good eye going wide.

"Diana, Diana, Diana..." Cheetah's voice purred from the darkness. "Looks at what you've brought me. A present and it's not even my birthday."

Cassie looked towards the oddly seductive voice. Through the gloom and dust the Cheetah emerged. She prowled towards them, slowly, her head down and her shoulders rolling with each slinked step. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness and her teeth, long and wickedly sharp, glinted in the dim light.

"How thoughtful of you." She sprang forward. Cassie had never seen someone move so fast in her entire like, not even when she'd trained with Wonder Woman. There was no time to react.

Wonder Woman shoved her and she went tumbling to the side.

Cheetah crashed into Wonder Woman and they went down, rolling back, a blurred ball of fists and claws, hissing and spitting, and Diana's furious shouts.

Cassie watched in horrified fascination. This was nothing like the fights she had seen in the movies, or even like the ones caught by news crews between superheroes and super-villains. There was no grace or fluidity to this, no form, it was feral and messy. The slightest misstep might cost one of the combatants their life.

Cheetah's mouth clamped down on Wonder Woman's wrist, her teeth screeching against the metal bracelet. Wonder Woman forced her head back. She had captured one of Cheetah's wrists and held it, pulling it away from the fray.

They rolled on the ground, Cheetah on top and Wonder Woman trapped beneath her. Cheetah moved her legs up and rapidly clawed at Wonder Woman's exposed stomach.

Diana screamed.

The sound shocked Cassie out of her state.

Diana needed her! She grabbed a sizable chunk of rubble and hurled it at Cheetah. It bounced off of the monster's head, snapping it to the side.

Wonder Woman took immediate advantage. She pulled her arm free from Cheetah's jaw and punched her, once, twice, the blows sounding like thunderclaps. She got a leg under Cheetah and kicked her off of her. Almost too fast for Cassie to follow, Wonder Woman was back on her feet and back on the offensive. She rained blows down on cheetah, forcing her back.

"Come on!" Cassie yelled in encouragement.

Cheetah swung around Wonder Woman, dipping low to the ground, her claws swiping across the back of Wonder Woman's knee. Wonder Woman stumbled.

"No!" Cassie cried.

She expected Cheetah to take advantage of the prone Amazon and inflict some serious damage, but she didn't. Instead she went for Cassie. She leapt, claws out, maw gaping, snarling. Cassie flung her arms up in an ineffectual defence.

Cheetah never made it to her. She pulled up short and was hauled back. Wonder Woman was back on her feet and had a hold of her tail. Gritting her teeth, Wonder Woman yanked Cheetah back, jumping at the same time, she brought her fist down on Cheetah's skull, slamming it into the floor. She hit her again and the floor broke, the tiles cracking from Cheetah's head being pounded into it.

Cheetah elbowed Wonder Woman, and rolled onto her back, kicking Wonder Woman away. With a hiss she was back on her feet and fleeing.

Cassie rushed to Diana's side.

Wonder Woman knelt on the floor. There were fresh claw marks over her arms and chest. She was pulling in uneven, ragged breaths. For the first time Cassie noticed that her tiara was missing. Strange how different she looked without it.

"What I would give for you to have a shred of Athena's wisdom, Cassandra!" Diana spat. "You have to get out of here. Minerva is different: stronger, faster, and more vicious. She's done something to herself and I don't know what."

"I can help, really I can," Cassie pleaded.

Diana's expression hardened. "Listen to me, I am grateful that you came, and I appreciate that you desire to help, but the best you can do is leave. I cannot fight Minerva and protect you at the same time."

"I don't need you protection!"

"You do. Minerva is playing a cowards game. She will attack from the shadows and she will target you." Diana gripped Cassie's shoulder as she spoke. "And that is why you must leave."

Slowly, Cassie nodded. She understood what Diana was saying. She was in the way, a liability waiting to be exploited.

"Okay," she said quietly. Her throat had gone tight again. Had she put Diana in more danger by coming here?

Diana smiled. She put her hand to Cassie's cheek and tiled her head so that Cassie was looking right at her. "Everything will be okay, Cassandra, I promise. I will speak to you again once I have apprehended Dr. Minerva. Now," she said lightly. "Help me to my feet."

Cassie started at her. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm afraid that I am not."

Cassie slid her arm around Diana's waist and helped her up, Diana leaning her weight against her. Once she had the Amazon on her feet, Cassie went to move away but Diana's legs buckled and she slumped back against Cassie.

"You can't seriously think that you can take on Cheetah like this!" She said through gritted teeth.

"I'll be fine."

"You're not fine now!"

"I will be. I just need to catch my breath."

"Maybe it's you who needs a shred of Athena's wisdom," Cassie raged. "You can't even stand on your own, so how're you going to fight? You're sending me away when you need my help. How is that wise? That's just stupid. It's like you want to lose!"

Diana stared down at her for a moment, her eyes wide in disbelief, and then she laughed. "You're words are not eloquent, but they are wise. Very well, you can help." Diana moved away from Cassie forcing herself to stand on her own. Her voice shook slightly but Cassie didn't doubt the strength in it. "I lost the lasso," Diana explained. "I think several floors up. There's an area for teaching, maybe there. I will distract Dr. Minerva while you find the lasso. It is our best chance of containing her."

"Okay," Cassie said. "But I should be the one to distract Cheetah." She had said it without really thinking. It made sense. Diana was in no condition to fight, but did Cassie really want to offer herself up as bait for the Cheetah? She'd probably end up in a worse state than Diana.

"Absolutely not," Diana said. She took Cassie by the shoulders again, peering into her eyes, her expression intense. Cassie felt a little uncomfortable under the gaze of Diana's blue eyes, that didn't really look like a shade of blue that Cassie had ever seen before.

"I will not have you put in such danger. I have been charged with protecting you, and I mean to do just that. Besides," her hand rested on Cassie's cheek and her eyes softened. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Especially if it was because of me,

"Oh," Cassie mumbled. "Okay." She was not blushing. She was _not._ Her heart was definitely hammering against her chest though, and those might have been butterflies fluttering about in her stomach.

Diana was smiling. "You get the lasso, I'll distract Minerva."

Cassie nodded.

The smile slipped from Diana's face and she looked hard and determined, very much Wonder Woman once more. She stepped away from Cassie. "Go now. Quickly!"

Cassie leapt up through the hole in the ceiling. She looked back and saw Diana limp off slowly after Cheetah. Would she really be okay? Cassie ran. She had to find the lasso as quickly as possible; the faster she did the more likely she could save Diana.

She had a vague idea of where to go. While wandering around lost she had passed some rooms that had looked like classrooms. She didn't remember seeing any signs of a struggle though, but it would be as good a place as any to start.

She hurried back the way she had come, once more following the trail of destruction.

Her feet slipped on the debris and more than once she had to avoid a wire hanging loose from the ceiling, sparking like it might be live and writhing in the air like a snake.

When she arrived at where she had first discovered the path of destruction she stopped to look around. She didn't think that there was any point in continuing to retrace her steps. Further on there was no sign of fighting so it was doubtful that the lasso would be in that direction.

Instead she looked up and wasn't at all surprised to find a hole in the ceiling. She prepared to jump up through the hole but then froze. A chill ran down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

It felt like... She was scared to move, to turn and look behind her, to even breathe. It felt like she was being watched.

If she were to turn would Cheetah be there prowling towards her? Cassie could see her clearly in her mind, the feral cat-woman, blood dripping from her mouth, stalking towards her.

Every one of Cassie's instincts were screaming at her to bolt, to run away, fast as she could, and to not look back.

She fought those urges down. Diana needed her. She was counting on her to find the lasso.

Slowly she turned. She brought her fists up before her, boxing style even though she didn't have the first clue how to box, but it was better than taking no defensive stance at all. She was ready to counter Cheetah should she attack.

But her fears were unfounded; the corridor was empty. She let out a long shaky breath and lowered her arms. She was just being paranoid. She turned; ready to jump up through the hole in the ceiling, when a flash of red caught her eye.

She spun, her fists up and her heart hammering. She stared at the small window in one of the side doors. There was nothing there, but she could have sworn that she had seen someone standing behind the door, watching her through the glass.

"Stop it," she whispered to herself, chiding. The situation was scary enough without her seeing things.

She jumped quickly through the hole, not giving herself another chance to imagine some horror lurking in the dark. Perhaps if she kept moving her mind would stop playing tricks on her.

It didn't take her long to follow the destruction and find the class rooms that Diana had been talking about. It looked as though she and Cheetah had started their battle here. Much like the rest of the building the rooms were trashed: collapsed walls, shattered windows, broken equipment and wrecked furniture, they had made a huge mess of the place. Cassie hoped that Cale Pharmaceuticals had insurance; they were going to need it.

She picked her way through the debris. She knew that the lasso would only glow when it was being actively used, and so would be difficult to pick out in this mess, which was annoying.

When Cassie found it, it would actually be the first time she had handled the lasso, and despite the dangerous circumstances she couldn't help but feel excited. What would it be like to hold such a powerful artefact, especially one that had been crafted by gods? Her mom would be so jealous.

She searched under broken tables, moving aside rubble when she had to, and trying not to make too much noise in case she alerted Cheetah to her presence.

She searched for what felt like an age, but she couldn't find the lasso. Had Diana been wrong about where she had lost it? What would happen if Cassie failed to find it? Was it really so essential to winning the fight against Cheetah?

She felt sick. The first stirrings of panic were starting to rise in her, her stomach roiling with worry. Her search for the lasso turned from being methodical to frantic. She kicked rocks and furniture out of her way, tearing through the rooms with no thought to the noise she was making of the further damage she was causing.

She had to find the lasso. Diana was counting on her.

She was panting, more from panic than from any kind of exertion, given her powers she didn't tire easily after all. She lobbed a desk out of her way and was once more struck with that odd feeling of being watched, like she could feel the cold, fixed point of someone's gaze on the back of her neck, making her skin prickle with discomfort. She ignored it though; it was probably her own paranoia getting the better of her again.

Then she heard the unmistakable soft rumbling of purring.

Cassie froze. Her stomach clenched tight and she forgot how to breathe.

"Diana does always have the best toys."

Slowly, terrified, Cassie turned to face the Cheetah. She was perched calmly on an overturned desk, her tail flicking lazily in the air behind her.

"What do you want?" Cassie demanded, pleased and surprised by the strength in her voice.

Cheetah smiled revealing her wickedly sharp teeth. "That should be obvious." She hopped down from the desk and slowly moved towards Cassie. "But for now I'll settle for you."

Just as Cassie took a tentative step back Cheetah sprang towards her. With a wordless cry Cassie brought her arms up to defend herself. It did little good. Cheetah knocked her backwards with a casual backhand. Cassie fell back against one of the few remaining walls. The blow hadn't been hard but it was enough to wake her up, to realise that she really needed to get her head in the game or she would actually die.

Cheetah swiped her claws at Cassie and instinct took over, Cassie ducked and dived, rolling under Cheetah's arm, she stumbled back to her feet. Cheetah was too fast though. She spun round and pressed her attack against Cassie, making Cassie dance back to avoid her blows. She was faster than Cassie had ever thought possible, she was a blur of motion, impossible to track or predict, the only way Cassie knew where she was by the feel of the air whipping past her as she narrowly dodged her blows.

The longer the fight went the surer Cassie became that Cheetah was toying with her, a thought that was confirmed when a moment later when Cheetah kicked Cassie square in the chest knocking the wind from her. She swiped her claws in Cassie's face, and Cassie staggered back feeling her cheek burn.

"That's enough playing don't you think?" Cheetah said. She revealed her teeth again and stalked towards Cassie.

Cassie's heart was pounding. Her breathing was ragged and she was shaking, literally quaking in fear. Her stomach was still clenched tight, and her legs were like jelly as she backed away from Cheetah.

There was murder in Cheetah's eyes, an unbridled blood-lust that made Cassie feel sick.

"Where's Wonder Woman?" Cassie demanded, her voice was weak, a high-pitched squeak that had none of the earlier defiance she had shown. That didn't matter though, she wanted to distract Cheetah, delay the inevitable.

Cheetah's grin widened. "Dead."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" She sounded amused.

"She wouldn't lose to you!" Anger returned strength to Cassie's voice. She refused to believe what Cheetah was saying. It couldn't be true. It wasn't true. Diana was stronger than that.

With a snarled hiss Cheetah pounced. Cassie ran into the attack, screaming in anger, swinging her fist blindly. Her eyes were closed so she didn't see her fist connect with Cheetah's face, but she heard and felt it. The crack as her knuckles met cheek bone, the shock that vibrated up her arm, the thrill that shot through her as she realised what she had done. Her eyes snapped open in time to see Cheetah knocked backwards with tremendous force.

Cheetah bounced through what was left of the furthest wall; bouncing and tumbling, her arms and legs flailing in the air. Cassie sprinted after her, still screaming though she wasn't sure why.

She'd fight her, she'd beat the Cheetah, and the she'd find Diana.

Cheetah was back on her feet, snarling. "I'll rip out your insid- _hurh!_"

Cassie came to a skidding stop as she saw a familiar golden glow wrap around Cheetah's neck, whipping her back.

Wonder Woman stood amongst the dust and rubble, tall and unwavering, her expression hard. The lasso coiled around her fist on one hand. She yanked on its length, snapping Cheetah back towards her and she delivered a devastating blow that shook the building and sent Cheetah reeling.

Wonder Woman looped the lasso around Cheetah's wrist and pulled it tight to the cat woman's body. She dodged a counter-attack from Cheetah and captured her other wrist with lasso also.

Cassie watched in awe as Wonder Woman danced around Cheetah, dodging her attacks, occasionally returning them, and all the while tying her up with the unbreakable lasso.

In under a minute the Cheetah was completely bound. Wonder Woman held onto one end of the golden rope, and kicked Cheetah's feet out from under her. Cheetah landed face down in an undignified heap with Wonder Woman standing over her.

"It's over, Barbara." She looked different than when Cassie had last seen her. Wonder Woman stood tall and defiant, still covered with drying blood and dirt, but she wore it well, no longer looking hampered by her injuries. She had found not only her lasso but her tiara as well.

Cassie couldn't help but smile. Diana mustn't have been as hurt as she had looked, it must have been an act to fool Cheetah. Of course that meant that Diana had used Cassie as bait, which, when Cassie really thought about it, was so not cool. She would be pissed off about it later, for now she was too happy to see Diana okay, and to see Cheetah to get the butt-whooping she deserved.

"Is it, Diana?!" Cheetah snarled. She turned her head, bloody spit drooling from her mouth, and stared at Cassie. There was a glint in her eye, an angry malicious gleam that spoke of nothing good. Cassie felt a shiver run through her and she took an involuntary step back.

Diana hauled Cheetah up to face her, gripping her glowing bonds. "You will not touch her; you will not even look upon her."

"Ooh, protective, aren't we?" Cheetah grinned. She lurched toward Diana, and for a terrifying moment Cassie thought that she meant to bite Diana, but instead she licked her. Her tongue rasping up from the base of Diana's jaw and up her cheek, in a slow libidinous movement.

Diana's lip curled in disgust. She smashed her head against Cheetah's, and with a sickening crunch Cheetah dropped to the floor once more, unconscious.

Wonder Woman stared down at her defeated opponent for a moment, her gaze unwavering and her eyes steely. Then she shook her head slightly, as though she were shaking off a trance, and looked to Cassie.

"Are you alright?" she asked,

"Sure," Cassie replied, "I think so anyway."

Wonder Woman placed her hand on Cassie's shoulder. "You did very well," she said sounding way too serious.

"Um, thanks?"

"Let's get Dr. Minerva downstairs. Her transport to Belle Reve will be here." Wonder Woman picked up the still unconscious Cheetah with one hand, using the lasso as a handle, and made her way from the wrecked room.

Cassie hurried after her. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Do what?"

"Keep calling Cheetah 'Dr. Minerva'?"

Wonder Woman stopped and looked to Cassie. Her brow was furrowed and she studied Cassie like she was a particularly interesting specimen in a lab. Cassie blushed under her scrutiny and looked down at her feet.

"Whatever else she is, Dr. Minerva is human. We contain the monster, we help the woman." Diana's voice was grave and vaguely disappointed. Cassie wondered if she had asked the wrong question.

/\/\/\

Diana made Cassie wait within the building while she delivered Cheetah to the Belle Reve guards. Cassie watched as Diana removed the lasso and the guards secured Cheetah in some seriously heavy duty, sci-fi looking cuffs. They must have been power inhibitors or dampeners or something, Cassie had read about such things but it was still something to see them in use. Whatever they were they didn't look like Cheetah would have an easy time getting out from them.

"Cool," she whispered, wishing she could get a closer look.

Diana spoke with the police, then to some blonde woman wearing pearls who looked like she was holding back a tidal wave of anger, and all the while the press took photos, and filmed what was happening and yelled questions.

It was so unfair. Cassie had helped, hadn't she? Why couldn't she share in the praise? Not that she thought of Wonder Woman as some sort of glory hog or anything, but come on! She had helped save the day. There was nothing wrong with sharing in the gratitude, was there?

Without even realising it Cassie had stepped out from the shadow of the near derelict building. It didn't take long for someone to notice her. One of the news reporters pointed at her, shouted something and then every camera there swung towards her.

Cassie froze. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

Fortunately Wonder Woman didn't freeze up. She took off; rocketing towards Cassie at the same intense speed she had when they were training. Cassie stepped back, her hands going up to protect her face. She cringed expecting Wonder Woman to do something particularly unpleasant, like clap in her face.

Instead her stomach lurched and the world fell away from beneath her feet. Her hair whipped about her face and the wind whistled in her ears. She opened her eyes and found herself staring up at Diana's face, cradled safely in her strong arms.

"I thought I told you to stay inside?" Diana said in wry amusement.

Cassie shrugged. "I got bored."

Diana smiled. Obviously she couldn't be that mad at Cassie for disobeying her, which made Cassie feel a little better, though she was probably still going to get a lecture about it later.

She twisted in Diana's arms, looking down on the city far below them. She was glad that she wasn't scared of heights, though it honestly didn't look real. The buildings were small, way down there; the traffic looked like toys and while she could make out crowds of people they too seemed fake. She felt oddly detached from them, like she was watching a movie.

"We're flying," Cassie said dumbly.

"Yes," Diana replied, sounding very amused now.

Cassie blushed. "Can I learn to fly?"

"Probably."

"Seriously!?" Cassie shrieked. "I mean I could seriously learn how to fly? That would be awesome! Like, just let go of me now."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Cassie wriggled in Diana's grasp. "No, seriously, I can do this."

Diana pulled her in closer to her body, her grip tightening. "I don't think so, Cassandra. Later, perhaps."

Which roughly translated to "never." Cassie huffed but stopped her struggling.

They were nearing the embassy; it stuck out from the other buildings like the proverbial sore thumb. Cassie still thought it was the most ridiculous looking building she had ever seen. But if they were already here then that meant that they had crossed the city in a matter of minutes. How fast were they flying? Funny that it hadn't felt like they were going all that fast.

They landed on the large balcony of the embassy, and Diana gently set Cassie down on her feet. Cassie had a much harder time convincing her arms to unwrap themselves from around Diana's neck. Her face was burning red by the time she did and she mumbled an apology as Diana placed her hand on her head and steered her into the embassy.

Entering the embassy from the balcony was very different from going through the front door. The balcony doors led to Diana's office, which Cassie had been in only a few times. She knew that Diana's bedroom was off to the side of the office but she had never been in it before, she took note of the door set between tall bookcases as she walked past though.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they exited the office.

"The White Room," Diana replied.

Cassie was guided from the office and through the embassy towards the White Room, which was another room she had never been in before.

There didn't seem to be any tourists or visitors in the Themysciran embassy today, only the staff who knew better than to question Wonder Woman on what she was doing or why she looked as though she had been dragged through several buildings. They gave the smallest nods and smiles as they passed by.

Cassie felt a thrill of excitement at finally being able to see the White Room. She had always wondered what was inside it, and had even on occasion tried – unsuccessfully – to sneak inside. Cassie excitement wasn't limited to seeing inside the White Room, after aiding Diana with her fight against Cheetah Cassie couldn't help but hope that Diana would have reconsidered her position on Cassie joining her in her fight against evil. That she would actually train her properly.

Diana moved before Cassie and pushed open one huge door. She beckoned Cassie inside and, needing no further encouragement, Cassie scurried through.

The room was like a marble cavern, huge and oddly sparse. Given the gaudy decoration of the rest of the embassy or even the clutter of the training room, Cassie had expected the White Room to be similar. At least it lived up to its name, it was very white. The floor was covered in tiny tiles, a mosaic from the looks of it of the Wonder Woman logo surrounded by stars. There seemed to be no light fixtures and yet it was perfectly illuminated. Cassie attention though was drawn to the large display in the centre of the room; a case was filled to the brim with weapons and armour, all ornamental in appearance and all deadly looking despite their beauty.

Diana closed the large door behind them. "There's a portal to Themyscira as well," she said gesturing beyond the display.

"Wow!" Cassie breathed. She went to the display and looked over the armour. Some pieces she recognised having seen Diana wear them when fighting a particularly nasty foe, others she did not. The armours wear worn over marble sculpted mannequins, the weapons in racks beside them.

There was a shield placed at the foot of one of the pieces and she picked it up, surprised that she could actually feel the weight of it. She traced her fingers around the rim, and then over the circle of stars inlaid into the metal near the boss. It was a work of art. Blue, red, silver stars, and then the gold eagle boss in the centre.

Grinning, she slipped her arm through the straps and hefted it, turning to face Diana.

"You like that?"

"You kidding me?" Cassie laughed, bringing the shield up to cover her and peering over the rim. "I love it!"

Diana approached and put her fingers lightly against the shield. "It was made by Hephaestus. It is unbreakable."

"Was all this other stuff made by him too?"

"Some. Most of it was made by Amazon hands. Many of the best pieces were made by Io and then blessed by Hephaestus."

Cassie's eyes were as wide as the shield she held. "That is so cool."

"I suppose so. Cassandra," Diana sighed and pushed the shield down so that she could see Cassie properly. "We need to speak about your interfering in my fight against Dr. Minerva."

"Interfering?" Cassie repeated quietly, and then louder, "_Interfering?_ If I hadn't 'interfered' then you'd have got your ass kicked."

Diana sighed again, louder and sounding more aggravated than tired this time. She reached forward and ran her thumb across Cassie's cheek. Cassie flinched and felt her cheek burn along the line Diana had traced. She had forgotten that Cheetah had clawed her.

"At least you heal quickly," Diana murmured. "But what am I to tell your mother? You were hurt under my care, and that is unacceptable."

"Well maybe if you'd trained me properly then maybe I wouldn't have got hurt," Cassie muttered petulantly.

"I had hoped that this little adventure would have deterred you from wanting to fight."

"I'm good at this, I mean; I could be good at this, if you trained me."

"I won't."

Again Cassie felt her hopes being crushed. There was that same sick, hollow feeling from before, but this time her disappointment was replaced by anger. She clenched her fists, her whole body trembling with rage.

"You were happy to have me help you before. You were okay with using me as bait to distract Cheetah."

"That's not what – "

"Yes it was!" She yelled. Diana actually took a step back, her eyes wide. Cassie was a long way off being finished though. She was so sick of this; sick of the mixed messages Diana was sending her, one moment she was encouraging Cassie, and then the next she was telling her that wouldn't train her. Cassie had had enough of this and she had every intention of telling Diana so.

"I don't care what you or mom says. I can so this. I', good at this, I could be great at this if you'd just give me a chance." She was fighting to keep her voice down, knowing that Diana would respond better to a well made argument than angry raving, but it was a challenge and she trembled with the effort of keeping her anger and frustration in check. The arm that held the shield ached, the muscles burning as she gripped the strap tight enough to whiten her knuckles.

Diana didn't say anything. She just stood there and stared, her expression carefully blank, patiently waiting for Cassie to continue.

Cassie's mouth was dry and she had to swallow, flexing her tongue to try and coax some moisture back before she could speak again. She looked Diana right in the eye, not blinking. "I don't need your approval. I don't need you to train me. I can do this myself."

"You won't." Diana's voice was hard, her expression stony. Cassie had never heard Diana sound so cold before, so lacking in the warmth she usually exuded and that seemed so natural to her. She looked every inch the detached princess right now; her blue eyes were icy, her bearing regal. Even the room seemed colder, the warmth retreating from the threat of Diana's anger.

It would be so easy to bow under the weight of Diana's words, the look in her eye. Cassie fought the urge to shrink back from her. She had never truly seen Diana angry before, and if this was a small taste of it then she never did. But that didn't mean that Cassie was going to give in.

"You can't stop me!"

"I can. I will."

"You complete hypocrite!" Cassie bellowed. It was too much; she felt like she might explode. She was furious with her mom, with Diana, and with herself for ever believing that Diana would train her. She was so sick of everyone treating her like a child, like something that needed to be coddled and protected. Everyone seemed to know what was best for her, but no one listened to what she wanted, or what she thought was best for her.

"You entered the contest without telling your mom. You were told not to enter. You didn't wait for permission, you just did it."

"The situations are not comparable."

Cassie didn't care if they weren't. It felt good to turn the tables on Diana, to point out the similarity between them, even if there were huge differences between their reasons for wanting to fight.

"You lied. You cheated. Your mom couldn't stop you from becoming Wonder Woman, mine can't stop me from becoming a superhero, and neither can you!"

"Cassandra..." Diana reached for her.

"No!" Cassie screamed. She knocked Diana's arm aside with the shield and kicked Diana, putting all of her anger and frustration, all of her confusion and hurt into the blow. She had a moment to see the look of surprise on Diana's face, her eyes going wide, and then she was hurtling backwards, crashing through the huge doors, which exploded from the impact sending splinters and shards of wood careening through the air. Diana bounced and tumbled across the embassy floor, tearing it up, and her limbs flailing. She smashed through the wall opposite the White Room as well before coming to a stop.

Cassie stared in open mouthed horror at what she had done. She hadn't meant to even hit Diana never mind destroy half the embassy. She brought the shield up, ducking behind it and peering over the rim at the carnage she had caused. Diana's body had cut a path across the embassy. The doors to the White Room were ruined beyond repair; tiles were torn up from the ground, shattered from the impact of Diana's body hitting them; and there was a large hole in the opposite wall, dust obscuring the view through it.

Cassie could hear the concerned voices of the embassy staff. Oh, she really hoped that they were okay.

She took tentative steps towards the broken door, keeping the shield up. There was no sign of Diana. Worry gnawed at her. What if she had hurt Diana?

Swallowing, Cassie called out in a voice far too small and scared sounding. "D-Diana?"

She heard the shift of rubble, and then through the dust and debris Diana emerged, rising like a titan from the earth. She was covered in dirt, her hair hung down obscuring most of her face, but Cassie could see that a thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

She stared right at Cassie. Her fingers dabbed at the blood on her lip and she spared it a glance.

Cassie's feeling of worry increased tenfold. Not for Diana, who was clearly fine, but for herself. She had kicked Wonder Woman.

She had kicked Wonder Woman through a wall.

She had kicked Wonder Woman through a wall and made her bleed.

She was so dead.

She tensed, gripping the shield and keeping it up. It was going to be the only defence she'd have against a furious Wonder Woman.

Diana lifted her head and stared right at Cassie. Cassie had thought that she'd see anger radiating in Diana's eyes that her fury would be such that it couldn't be contained. What she saw instead was much worse.

Diana's lips pulled back into a predatory smile, revealing perfectly white teeth. Fierce pride shone in her eyes. She wiped the blood from her chin with the back of her hand, and took a step towards Cassie.

"That's more like it," she said quietly, forcefully, still smiling like she was eyeing up prey. She took another step towards Cassie, and Cassie stepped back, eager to keep the distance between them.

Diana stopped and crouched, she rolled her shoulders like a bird of prey unfurling its wings. She launched herself towards Cassie with a cry, "Defend yourself!"

Cassie did the only thing she could do: she kept the shield up and braced for impact.

This was so very much going to hurt.

/\/\/\

Cassie shifted uncomfortably in her seat under the scrutiny of her mom. They were sitting at the kitchen table, which had been cleared of her mom's usual work related clutter. Diana sat to her right looking serene despite the still healing injuries on her face, while her mom occupied the seat to her left looking incredibly angry.

Diana picked up her mug of coffee and took a polite sip. She didn't seem at all bothered that the mug was chipped, or that it had only been rinsed rather than washed before being used to serve her coffee. She set the mug down on the table and calmly looked to Helena.

Cassie held her breath, barely daring to hope.

"Helena," Diana said. "I understand your – "

"No."

Cassie looked to Diana, who still looked calm despite the lack of progress they were making.

It had been two days since their encounter with Cheetah, and since their fight in the embassy. Thought it hadn't truly been a fight, not really. It had started as an argument, progressed into sparring, and ended in a game with Diana chasing her around the embassy while she'd laughed breathlessly trying not to be caught. She couldn't remember the last time she had had so much fun. By the time she had returned home she was grinning from ear to ear.

Of course she had also been bruised and dirty, and still sporting the claw marks that Cheetah had given her. Her mom had been less than pleased and had promptly blamed Diana for her dishevelled appearance.

And that was part of the reason why Diana was now sitting at their kitchen table enjoying a civil mug of badly made coffee. Helena had decided that Diana shouldn't be near Cassie anymore. Diana had other plans that Cassie was much more interested in.

Diana glanced at Cassie.

"Please," Cassie mouthed at her.

The smallest smile graced Diana's lips.

"I understand your concern, Helena," Diana continued. "But I must insist. It is for the best that Cassandra fully trains with me."

Helena's hands were fisted on the table. Her face had gone red and she was obviously struggling to keep her temper in check. Her mug of coffee sat forgotten before her, not in a chipped mug like Diana's.

"You insist? She repeated, hissing the words and actually shaking with anger.

Diana looked effortlessly calm and composed. "Yes. Athena charged me with protecting, Cassandra, and I mean to do that in the manner I see most fitting, I cannot always be there to protect her, and in those situations it would be best if Cassandra knew how to protect herself. So yes, I insist that I be able to train her."

Cassie watched her mom closely. She had gone a rather interesting shade of purple. Her lips were pressed tightly together, but her jaw moved as if she was chewing something. Cassie recognised it as her thinking face. Though she looked far more strained than she usually did.

Finally Helena sighed, her shoulder slumping. She pushed her fingers under her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "I do see the sense in what you're saying Diana, I do."

"But?"

"You can't train her how you did before. I won't have you just... just beating her up."

Diana frowned. "That session was no different to how I was trained on Themyscira."

"This isn't Themyscira!" Helena snapped.

"No, it isn't. But I insist that you don't question my training methods, even when they do seem harsh."

Helena was making her thinking face again. Her brow was creased with lines of worry, and she looked very tired. Cassie felt a little guilty for being the cause of this, but her feelings of guilt were minor compared to the nervous excitement that was making her jittery. She was so close to getting what she wanted.

Helena looked to her and Cassie gave her a bright encouraging smiled. Helena threw up her hands in defeat. "Fine. You can train her."

Diana smiled warmly. "You will not regret this, Helena."

"I'd better not," Helena muttered.

Cassie ruthlessly squashed down the urge to yell out in excitement. They had only won half the battle after all. She shot Diana a pleading look, and then gave her a kick under the table for good measure.

Diana grunted and shot Cassie a slightly annoyed look. Turning back to Helena she once again assumed that cool, calm look that was effortlessly regal.

"There is more, Helena. Not only will I be training, Cassandra, I will also be taking her on as my protégé."

"Her sidekick," piped Cassie happily.

Diana's lip curled and she gave Cassie a withering look. Wow, she really did not like that term at all.

"Absolutely not." Helena's voice was firm. She pushed herself up from her seat, her hands flat on the table, and leaned across it to glare at Diana.

Diana didn't even so much as flinch. "I insist."

"You've been insisting on a lot of things today," Helena said acidly.

When Diana replied her voice was soft and kind. "We both know that Cassandra will do what she wants, and she wants to help. She will be safer if she works with me."

Cassie was thrilled. Diana hadn't said that she would work under her, but that she would work with her, like she was an equal. This day was getting better and better.

Her mom didn't look anywhere near as thrilled though. She looked upset. She moved away from the table, turning her back on Diana. Cassie could see that she had her face in her hands, and her shoulders were shaking.

Cassie sank down in her chair. She didn't want her mom upset.

Helena took several deep shuddering breaths, and when she turned to face them she had composed herself and looked determined. She looked at Diana.

"You have to promise me that you'll look after her."

"You know that I will."

"Promise me, Diana." Helena's voice was hard. Diana gazed back at her calmly, and Cassie watched them both barely daring to breathe.

Slowly Diana stood and moved around the table to stand a few feet off of Helena. She rolled her sleeves back, revealing the gleam of her bracelets. She sunk down to one knee and brought her arms up, crossing her wrists before her bowed head.

"I cannot guarantee that she won't be hurt, not that there won't be trying, difficult times, but I swear to you, Helena Sandsmark, that I will protect your daughter with my life. I swear in the name of my mother, Queen Hippolyta, and in the names of my Goddesses, Aphrodite, Artemis and Athena."

"Cool." Cassie was stood up on her chair and looking over the table at Diana kneeling on the floor. Somehow even when she was kneeling on the floor, with her head bowed, Diana still looked effortlessly regal and no one would ever question which woman in the room was the most important one, which was way awesome. Cassie seriously hoped that that kind of self-assurance, the ability to own the room and everything in it was something Diana could teach her.

Helena looked a little embarrassed by Diana's gesture. "Thank you, Diana," she said her voice thick. "That was... reassuring. Please, get up off the floor. I can't remember the last time I cleaned it."

Diana stood up and smiled at Helena. "Yes, it is a little dusty down there." She brushed her hands across her trouser to emphasise this.

Cassie was still stood on her chair gawking at them both. Helena seemed to have run out of things to say. She and Diana stared at each other, silently communicating something; Cassie had no idea what though.

Helena swallowed. Her arms were wrapped around her mid-section, and she dipped her head down. She was upset, Cassie could tell that much. Her throat burned and felt tight as she watched Diana pull her mother into a hug.

"With my life, Helena," Diana murmured, "and more than that if I have to."

Helena moved away from Diana. She took several quick, shaky breaths and wiped her eyes. She then looked to Cassie.

"Sit down, Cassie. You know better than to stand on the furniture," she admonished.

Cassie sat down quickly, grinning sheepishly. She was finding it difficult to contain her own glee at what had just happened.

Helena went o Cassie, gently taking her face in her hand. "Listen to what Diana tells you."

"Course I will," Cassie replied grinning.

Helena sighed and shook her head. She left the room muttering to herself as she went. Once the door closed Cassie turned to Diana.

"When do we start training?"

"Soon. First I have a gift for you." Diana moved back to her seat and lifted an elaborately carved wooden case from the floor. She placed it on the table and slid it towards Cassie, and then sat back down. "I had Io make these for you."

Cassie opened the case and gasped at the contents. Settled neatly in red silk were a pair of bracelets like Diana's, and a coil of golden rope.

"No way!" Cassie laughed. This was freaking unbelievable, never in a million years had she thought that she would get her own bracelets, never mind her own lasso. "These are seriously for me?"

"Of course. Who else would they be for?"

With a shriek of delight Cassie picked up one of the bracelets and slipped it over her hand and onto her wrist. The metal was cool against her skin, and despite being big enough to easily fit her hand through, the bracelet fit neatly around her wrist.

"It's a lot heavier than I thought it'd be," she said giving it an experimental wiggle. The band of metal didn't move, it was secure on her wrist. She quickly put the other one on.

"The weight is part of the magic that was used to make them. Amazonium is the strongest metal on Earth, and only a few Amazons know the secrets of working it. These bracelets are as close to unbreakable as you'll ever get."

Cassie clanged the bracelets together. She didn't feel the impact but the sound the metal made was louder than she had expected and oddly musical.

"What about the lasso?" Cassie snatched up the golden rope and it flared brightly at her touch.

"The lasso was also made by Io. I'm afraid that it does not possess the same properties as mine does though."

No magical lie detector for her then. That was slightly disappointing to hear, but Cassie didn't mind too much.

"Everything in there has been blessed by Hephaestus," Diana said,

"That is so awesome."

"Yes, I suppose it is."

Cassie carefully put the lasso back in its case but kept the bracelets on. She was never going to take them off. She looked at Diana. "What did you mean that you swore to Athena that you'd protect me?"

Diana's expression became grave. She took her time answering and Cassie not so patiently waited, shifting nervously in her seat.

"You are a very special person, Cassandra," Diana said finally. "You are gifted, and those gifts mean that Olympus' eyes are on you. There are those on Olympus that would seek to use you, and others still who that would wish you harm."

"Athena doesn't think that?" Cassie had gone cold.

"She doesn't. Athena's wisdom is great, and she sees further than I do, but she does not always share her wisdom with me, nor what she sees. I believe though that she sees great things for you."

"Oh." Along with the cold realisation that there were powerful beings out there that might want her dead there was also a weight settling on Cassie. She felt it in her chest; a pressure that made it difficult to breathe. It was the weight of expectation and responsibility.

Cassie swallowed. "So I guess this means us meeting wasn't a coincidence then?"

"I'm afraid not," Diana replied.

"Okay." Cassie nodded. She could accept that. It didn't matter why she and Diana met, only that they did. "Why does Olympus think I'm important."

Diana stared at Cassie a moment and then her gaze slid away. "That, I cannot say."

She was hiding something, Cassie realised. Diana wouldn't lie to her directly, but she could and would avoid the subject. It could have made Cassie mad, but with everything else that was going on she couldn't summon the effort. She trusted that Diana had a good reason for not telling her, and that she would eventually when the time was right.

The silence that settled between them was awkward and thick with things unsaid. Cassie's fingers fidgeted in her lap while she tried to think of something to say.

Diana beat her to the punch. She leaned towards Cassie, her expression a little too serious, especially given the quirk of her lips that threatened to be a smile.

"You told your mother that I beat you up?"

Cassie laughed a little guiltily. "You sorta did."

Diana leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I was going easy on you."

"No way!" Cassie laughed, not believing what Diana was claiming for a second. "You kicked my ass so hard I couldn't move."

"I'm being quite serious," Diana informed her still with that all too serious expression and tone.

"You're not. You just did that to try and put me off training with you."

"Did I now?" Diana raised an eyebrow. She regarded Cassie with a pleased smile on her face. "It's good that our first training session didn't put you off. It's good to know that you can handle it; that you won't give up at the first bump, or injury, or when it becomes hard."

Cassie's smile faltered. Diana hadn't been joking about taking it easy? Cassie gulped. Her earlier excitement was suddenly tempered with dread. Diana's smile was predatory and reminded Cassie of Cheetah.

What the hell had she got herself into?

* * *

**Holy shit this took far too long to finish. I apologise. **

**This might seem like an odd place to end to some, and truthfully it is only the end of this particular fic. I have every intention of revisiting Cassie and Diana somewhere down the line so keep an eye out for that. At the rate I'm currently writing the sequel will probably be posted in 2018.**

**Some notes...**

**I started writing this before Young Justice ended, and before they revealed the list of names of those who had been on the Team in the five year time jump. For the sake of my own little continuity I'm going to pretend that Donna Troy didn't happen and that Cassie is Diana's first sidekick. I am also going to feel forever sad that Young Justice was cancelled and that I'll never see their version of Donna Troy, whom I love.**

**Georgia and Tammy are from the comics. They were Cassie's friends and featured in some of the Jiminez Wonder Woman issues. I'm fairly sure that one of them was killed by Silver Swan.**

**The stone lions guarding the door to the embassy are from the Odyssey, and were one of the few good things about that run. **

**Ferdinand is from Greg Rucka's WW run. I figured that if I was sticking Diana in the embassy then I should also hijack the embassy staff. Although they didn't feature in this fic I will also be using Rucka's version of the gods.**

**Thank you for taking the time to read my blathering nonsense, also this author's note, and please leave a review on your way out to tell what you think. Constructive criticism is very welcome. Flames are less so but I will still read them. Thank you again.**


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